enoweb

lyrics

: Here Come the Warm Jets :

"The title Warm Jets came from the guitar sound on the track of that
name, which I described on the track sheet as 'warm jet guitar', because it
sounded like a tuned jet. Then I had the pack of playing cards with the picture
of the woman in there, and they sort of connected. That was one of the things
that was going on at the time: this idea that music was still tied to some idea
of revolution, and that one of the revolutions was a sexual revolution. I
wasn't making a big political point, I just liked having fun with those things.
Most people didn't realise for a long time -- it was rather deeply
concealed!"

Brian Eno, interviewed by Andy Gill in Mojo, June
1998

NEEDLES IN THE CAMEL'S EYE

Those who knowThey don't let it showThey just give you one long
lifeAnd you go, oh oh, oh oh

Goes to showHow winds blowThe weather's fineAnd I feel so
so-so, so

Birds of preyWith too much to sayOh what could be my
destinyAnother rainy day

Why ask why?For by the by and byAll mysteries are just
moreNeedles in the camel's eye

Alternative hearings:

Those who know == Girls who know (-- Don Ford)

They don't let it show == They don't let it go (-- R
Carlberg)

They just give you one long life == They just give you one long glance
== They just give you one long line (-- Tymothi Loving)

And you go == So you go (-- R Carlberg) == And you know (--
Don Ford) == So you go-oo-oooo-oo! (-- Tymothi Loving)

THE PAW PAW NEGRO BLOWTORCH

My, my my, we're treating each other just like strangersI can't
ignore the significance of these changesBut you can't treat it
lightly,And you'll have to face the consequencesAll my worst fears are
groundedYou have to make the choice betweenThe Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch
and me (no, no, no, no)

By this time time I got to looking for a kind of substitute I can't
tell you quite how, Except that it rhymes with dissolute (oh naughty,
naughty): But my baby's so lazy, she is almost unable And it's driving
me crazy 'Cause her loving's just a fable that we sometimes try, With
passion, to recall...

Send for an ambulance or an accident investigator He's breathing
like a furnace, so I'll see you later, alligator He'll set the sheets
on fire - mmm, quite a burning lover Now he'll barbecue your kitten: he is
just another learner lover You have to make the choice between The Paw
Paw Negro Blowtorch and me...

Alternative hearings:

I can't tell you quite how == I can't tell you who I found == I can't
tell you what I found (-- R Carlberg) == I can't tell you what of (--
Tymothi Loving)

He's breathing like a furnace, so == He's breathing like a
Furnace-saur

he is just another learner lover == He's just another lava lover == He's
just another mother lover (-- Don Ford)

Now he'll barbecue your kitten: he is just another learner lover ==
He'll barbeque your mittened penis: just another murder lover This
was from an interview with BE just after HCTWJ was released; I think it was in
"Creem" Mag -- Scott & Chris May

Zot Lynn/Kelly Higgins: Hello and thank you! i have a few
offerings for your lyrics page, all in the song "The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch".
For "I can't tell you quite how", i heard "I can't tell you right out", which
fits well with using a puzzle-hint of giving the rhyming word "dissolute",
perhaps as a way of adhering to a promise of confidentiality while sneaking
information around the limits of the promise. Rather than, "But my baby's so
lazy, she is almost unable", i heard and was intrigued by, "But my baby's so
lazy, she is almost a neighbor". Like others, i also heard "He's breathing like
a furnace-saur" for "He's breathing like a furnace, so". The mishearing has a
herpetological link into the next line: "I'll see you later, alligator" By the
way, i live on a lake in humid Florida, USA with a swampy Cypress/ Gum/ Spanish
Moss/ Heron shore habitat, and have alligators and many other herps as
neighbors. "He'll set the sheets on fire - mmm, quite a burning lover" That's
clear. How could i have ever heard "burning problem"? "Now he'll barbecue your
kitten:" i'm delighted for your clarification on the kitten line that always
puzzled me. "he is just another learner lover" makes sense, but i still prefer
the full sentence i heard: "he is just another lover, lover.", where the
speaker is using the plain anti-pet-name (and non-gender-specific) "lover" as a
form of address when speaking to his lover.

References:

"Eno explains that this song was inspired by the case of A.W. Underwood
of Paw Paw, Michigan, who could set things on fire merely by breathing on them.
'The song celebrates the possibility of a love affair with the man', says Eno."
(More Dark Than Shark)

The word "Negro" was still in common and non-pejorative use in Britain
in the early 1970's when this song was written. The choice of the word here
should be viewed in this context.

Stewart Waller: Great to find this sight, as I have been an avid
Eno fan since I was about fifteen. Now I am 37. Anyway, another possible inside
rock reference in King's Lead Hat would be to Gong's David Allen: "I draw
bananas on the bathroom wall. " David Allen, of Planet Gong fame, was obsessive
about drawing his "Banana Moons" everywhere. In fact, when I met him in
Baltimore once, we exchanged drawings, and his was, of course, a banana moon.
If you look inside the album "Banana Moon, " a "Daevid" Allen solo album that
includes Robert Wyatt and Gary Wright, there is a photo of the group posed
against a dirty wall, with a banana moon drawn on it. And Daevid has a Banana
in his mouth. About the right time frame, too.

BABY'S ON FIRE

Baby's on fire Better throw her in the water Look at her
laughing Like a heifer to the slaughter

Baby's on fire And all the laughing boys are bitching Waiting
for photos Oh the plot is so bewitching

Rescuers row row Do your best to change the subject Blow the
wind blow blow Lend some assistance to the object

Photographers snip snap Take your time she's only burning This
kind of experience Is necessary for her learning

If you'll be my flotsam I could be half the man I used to They
said you were hot stuff And that's what Baby's been reduced to...

Juanita and Juan Very clever with maraccas Making their fortunes
Selling second-hand tobaccoes

Juan dances at Chico's And when the clients are evicted He
empties the ashtrays And pockets all that he's collected

But Baby's on fire! And all the instruments agree that Her
temperature's rising But any idiot would know that.

Alternative hearings:

But any idiot == And any idiot (-- R Carlberg)

I think that in Babys on Fire, in the Juanita and Juan verse, he
possibly could have said "And when the clients are addicted" instead of "when
the clients are evicted". (-- saddie1)

Oh the plot is so bewitching == Of a party so bewitching (--
Sardonicusj)

Is it "waiting for photos..of her body so bewitching." not "plot is so
bewitching"? (-- Eddieandhilary Street)

Selling second hand de factos (-- Eric Hurley)

and pockets all that he's collected = and profits all that he's
collected (-- Hugh Helms)

References:

On the live album "801 Live," at the end of "Baby's on Fire," Eno yells
out "But any idiot can see that!" Check it out! It's an interesting version.
(-- Daryl Bullis)

Lindsay: I always thought in "Babies on Fire" the line is "If
you'll be my foxhound, I could be half the man I used to be" .

CINDY TELLS ME

Cindy tells me, the rich girls are leaving, Cindy tells me, they've
given up sleeping alone And now they're so confused By their new
freedoms.

And she tells meThey're selling up their maisonettesLeft their
Hotpoints to rust in their kitchenettes And they're saving their labours
for insane reading.

Some of them lose -- and some of them lose, But that's what they
want -- And that's what they choose. It's a burden -- such a burden
Oh what a burden to be so relied on.

Cindy tells me, What will they do with their lives? Living
quietly -- like labourers' wives... Perhaps they'll re-acquire those things
They've all disposed of.

Some of them lose and some of them lose == Some have the blues and some
of them lose (-- R Carlberg) == Some of the lose and some of them booze
(-- Don Ford) == Some them bruise -- and some of them lose (--
Tymothi Loving)

It's a burden -- such a burden -- Oh what a burden to be so relied on ==
It's a burner, such a burner, ooh ooh, oh what a burner to be so relied on
(-- Kelly Higgins) == It's a bother-- such a bother Oh what a bother to
be so relied on (-- Aimee)

They're selling up their maisonettes == They're selling off their
maisonettes (-- Sardonicusj)

Some of them lose -- and some of them lose == Some of them lose / and
some of them loose (-- Sardonicusj)

References:

Maisonette: A flat (apartment) with its own separate
entrance.

Hotpoint: a manufacturer of white goods -- cookers, fridges etc.
These "labour-saving devices" (a buzz-phrase in the 1950's & '60's) get
referred to again in the following line, "saving their labours". Eno carries
this idea through into the last verse's "labourers' wives".

ON SOME FARAWAY BEACH

Given the chance I'll die like a baby On some faraway beach
When the season's over

Blank Frank: he's the messenger of your doom and your destruction.
Yes, he is the one who will set you up as nothing. And he is the one
who will look at you sideways His particular skill is leaving bombs in
people's driveways.

Blank Frank has a memory that's as cold as an iceberg The only time
he speaks is in incomprehensible proverbs Blank Frank is the siren, he's
the air-raid, he's the crater. He's on the menu on the table, he's the
knife and he's the waiter.

you have the (oh no)s reversed in the chorus of dead finks (--
BrotherElectric)

can those poor teeth take so much kicking = can those broad teeth take
so much kicking (-- Hugh Helms)

you have a lyric written as: "oh perfect masters, they thrive on
disasters" I believe the correct lyric to be: "oh perfect bastards, they thrive
on disasters" After several listens, I'm pretty sure about this. But it's your
site. It's a great site, though. I really enjoyed it. (-- David
Hisle)

Dead Finks Dont Talk is the most randomly generated
of my songs. I wrote the lyrics at home with my girl-friend with a cassette of
the backing track from the studio. I sang whatever came into my mind as the
song played through. Frequently theyre just nonsense words or syllables.
First I try for the correct phonetic sound rather than the verbal meaning. Off
the top I was singing oh-dee-dow-gubba-ring-ge-dow. So I recorded
these rubbish words and then I turned them back into words. Its the exact
opposite of the technique used in phonetic poetry where words are changed into
pure sounds. I take sounds and change them into words.

Dead Finks is not about Bryan Ferry. After all the music
was recorded and the words written, Chris Thomas (my producer and Roxys
as well) said, youll get me shot for that track. Its
obviously about Bryan. So I listened back to it and it obviously was. It
was certainly something I hadnt realised. Essentially all these songs
have no meaning that I invested in them. Meanings can be generated within their
own frame-work. It may be a very esoteric thing to talk about but I dont
think its entirely out of the question. -- Brian Eno,
1973

A couple of lines of vocal in "Dead Finks Don't Talk" are in reverse
phase, so that if you play the track in mono they disappear. Try it! (-- Lee
Mendham)

SOME OF THEM ARE OLD

People come and go And forget to close the door, And leave their
stains and cigarette butts trampled on the floor, And when they do,
remember me, remember me.

Some of them are old, Some of them are new, Some of them will
turn up when you least expect them to, And when they do, remember me,
remember me.

Lucy you're my girl, Lucy you're a star, Lucy please be still
and hide your madness in a jar, But do beware: it will follow you, it will
follow you.

Some of them are old But it would help if you could smile, To
earn a crooked sixpence you'll walk many a crooked mile, And when you do,
remember me, remember me.

References:

To earn a crooked sixpence you'll walk many a crooked mile == To earn a
crooked sixpence you'll walk many crooked miles (-- R Carlberg)

And when you do == And as you do (-- R Carlberg)

References:

To earn a crooked sixpence you'll walk many a crooked mile
(penultimate line): a reference to the nursery rhyme:

There was a crooked man Who walked a crooked mile And found a
crooked sixpence Beside a crooked stile.He bought a crooked catAnd
it caught a crooked mouseAnd they all lived togetherIn his little
crooked house.

HERE COME THE WARM JETS

[...Inaudible...]

[Further] we make claims on [our teas]

[Dawn inner here] for we've nowhere to be

Nowhere to be

Nowhere to be

[Father stains], we're all on our knees

Down on our words and we've nothing to be

Nothing to be

Nothing to be

Further down we're all on our [sails]

[Paid to upheed] though we've nothing these days

Nothing these days

Nothing these days

[Further still, their stall in a daze]

We're down on our knees and we've nothing to say

Nothing to say

Nothing to say...

Note: The lyrics above are what Tom reckons he heard on the
cleaned-up version of the song included in the Eno Box set. Words in brackets
are things he's not sure about.

Alternative hearings:

I was especially pleased to see someone had had a go at the "Here Come
The Warm Jets" (song) lyrics as these had always intrigued me. I already had a
few ideas and comparing what I had with what's on the site was interesting and
informative. Here are a few observations:

I think the first word of the first line of each verse is "father" or
"farther" in each case. I'm certain that the last word of verse 1 line 1 is
"knees" just like verse 2. I'd make a stab at the first line actually being
"Father we make prayers on our knees". Try "Dawning a year" or perhaps "Dawn in
a year" for the first few words of the second line of verse 1. I'msure
verse 2 line 1 word 3 is "they're" and not "we're" - in other words in "Father
(or whatever it is) stains", "stains" is not a verb but a noun and the words
together are not a description of what father does but is a description of what
the stain is - i.e. the "they're" refers to the stain and not to us.

The first two words of verse 3 are "Father drowned" (maybe "Father
drowns" but I'd favour the former) which would I guess sit in with the "sails"
reference later, but perhaps I was being subconsciously influenced there. I
think the first line of verse 4 is "Father, here they're sprawled in a daze".
That doesn't make much more sense than what was there before, but it was
particularly the "sprawled in a daze" bit that stood out.

The whole thing
seems to be vaguely about praying or being on your knees (rather than just one
or two verses on this thread) although given the title of the song it could be
about being on your knees doing something quite different I suppose. Crowded
House had an album called "The Temple Of Low Men" which I am told, although I'd
never encountered the phrase myself, has sexual connotations which may also fit
in vaguely here - given my interpretation on the "praying" front. --
Simon Coward

Gary Sweeden adds: Taking into consideration what Tom
put together, along with Simon's additions here's what I came up with.

Father, we make claims on our knees Dawn enter here for we've
nowhere to be Nowhere to be Nowhere to be

Father, stains
they're all on our knees Down on our words and we've nothing to be
Nothing to be Nothing to be

Father, down we're all on our
saints Paid to appease though we've nothing these days Nothing these
days Nothing these days

Father, here they're sprawled in a daze
We're down on our knees and we've nothing to say Nothing to say
Nothing to say...

I've listened to this tune many times and I
always got the feeling he was talking about the general dismal state of the
praying masses. They've said it all so many times but nothing has changed,
they've got nowhere to be, nothing to be, and nothing in they're pocket,
therefore they've got nothing more to say. I'm sure my lyrics aren't right, and
you can't read too much into any Eno lyrics, but I think this is one song where
he actually wanted to say something with them.

R Carlberg adds:I believe Gary Sweeden's interpretation
is close.

Father please make claims on our knees Don't enter here
for we've nowhere to be Nowhere to be Nowhere to be

Father
stays, they're all on our knees Down on our words and we've nothing to be
Nothing to be Nothing to be

Father, down we're all in our save
(makes no sense but whatever)Paid to appease though we've nothing
these days Nothing these days Nothing these days

Father dear
they're sprawled in a daze We're down on our knees and we've nothing to say

(Note: last phrase does not repeat!) It occurs to me that these could
be priests' names: Father Pease, Father Stace, Father Downey, Father Dear but
it's impossible to say with any certainty.

Paul Edwards interjects:Re the lyrics to 'Here Come
the Warm Jets' (Title Track). I seem to recall an interview or review and it
was noted that this track is about the act of micturition. In this context,
some of the words may be interpreted differently (if they could be heard!). The
phrase 'nowhere to be' for example is actually "nowhere to pee".

Jim Benbow says:Here is what I hear / imagine:
[Further] we make claims on our knees Gone in a year for we've nowhere
to be Nowhere to be Nowhere to be

[Father stains], we're all on
our knees Down on our words and we've nothing to be Nothing to be
Nothing to be

Further down we're all on our saints [Paid to
upheed] though we've nothing these days Nothing these days Nothing
these days

Father give them straw men of [fate/faith] We're down on
our knees and we've nothing to say Nothing to say Nothing to say...

Donald Kloss ruminates:

I thought you might be interested to know that the people who
introduced me to this album told me that the last lines in that first verse of
the song are, "we're on our own and there's no place to pee, no place to pee,
no place to pee". I was told that this refered directly to the song/album
title, and to the card deck on the cover. I've never talked to anyone familiar
with the album that did not hear the lyrics this way. I was also told that the
title Baby's On Fire was also a reference to this theme, the "fire" being
bodily symptoms of VD. This, incidentially, was in the rural midwest, of all
places.

Don Ford proposes:

On Thursdays.

Kian Bergstrom quibbles:

If you care... Jim Benbow's lyric hearing is pretty good as far as
this song goes. I agree with much of it. But, I think I may be able to improve
on it:

Father, we've spent days on our knees Gone in a year, for we've no
where to be Nowhere to be Nowhere to be

Father stays, we're all
on our knees Down on our words and we've nothing to be Nothing to be
Nothing to be

Father, down, we're all on our sails Hail to our
keys, but we've nothing these days Nothing these days Nothing these
days

Father, give them straw men of faith We're down on our knees
and we've nothing to say Nothing to say Nothing to say

I really
appreciate the site, by the way. It's a wonderful resource, and very well put
together. Kudos.

D. Michael Ramirez II: Hey, I don't know if this relates, but I
bought the album in Japan, and it has the lyrics printed in english as well as
Japanese translations (which I am able to read and understand) Related to here
come the warm jets, the printed lyrics state the first verse throws out, where
on you're page, where it says, "inaudible" ***** We know when to come
but we know where to leave... all these days when we were down on our
luck and learning to live **** I don't know that since these lyrics
are printed and in the album cover that they might not fit with the spirit of
your sight, and personally, I consider the lyrics up there just as correct.
But, I was just throwing this out in case you didn't know.

Phil Stinard: I was pleased to find and read your extensive
collection of lyrics and alternative lyrics for Brian Eno's album "Here Come
the Warm Jets." After listening carefully to the album several times with your
lyrics by my side, I found that in several instances (but not all), I was able
to hear both sets of lyrics, depending on what I was listening for. Then I
listened to the album without the lyrics in front of me, and noticed some
"slipping" or discontinuities in Eno's voice, as well as grammatical errors, at
some points in the songs. It sounds to me like he sometimes recorded two
different sets of lyrics for sections of some songs, and then superimposed them
for an ambiguous effect. That could explain the "mittened penis" vs. "kitten,
he is" hearings in the Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch. Maybe both sets are
superimposed, and you hear whichever one you want to hear. The most obvious
example of superimposed lyrics is in "Driving Me Backwards," were lyrical
slippage is rampant. Generally, the two sets are the same, and are only out of
phase in their timing, especially towards the ends of the lines, but I think
that the "facepacks/facemasks" hearing definitely shows two different words
superimposed.

Which brings me to my main reason for writing, which is the
controversy over the lyrics to the song "Here Come the Warm Jets." Some of the
controversy is surely due to the low volume/high noise manner in which the
vocals were recorded/produced, but some could be due to superimposition of two
(or more) recordings. In fact, the "stall in a daze/sprawled in a daze" line is
so garbled, that it's very hard to figure out meaning from it. The religious
connotations are obvious, but I would go much beyond this and say that the song
is mainly sexual in nature and makes metaphorical comparisons of sex/urination
with religous worship, but that the sexual dimension predominates. First, one
must abandon one's sexual preconceptions and hangups and admit that men
sometimes have sex in bathrooms, and that for many it's no big deal. With that
it mind, I view this song as an unabashed anthem to bathroom sex. The singer's
viewpoint is factual and unapologetic. Now, Eno might have made this song
tongue-in-cheek in order to shock and mystify the listeners, but the words and
meaning are there. Here is what I heard:

Father we make claims on our knees Don't enter here for we've
nowhere to pee Nowhere to pee Nowhere to pee Father stains, they're
all on our knees Down on our worms and we've nothing to pee Nothing to
pee Nothing to pee Farther down we're all on our saints Made to
appease though we've nothing these days Nothing these days Nothing
these days [Further still, their stall in a daze.] (Can't figure this one
out.) We're down on our knees and we've nothing to say Nothing to say
Nothing to say

"Father we make claims on our knees" could mean supplication in a
religious or a sexual sense. "Don't enter here for we've nowhere to pee," could
be a warning to "straight" guys that the place is for sex, not urination.
"Father stains" on our knees is an obvious reference to semen or urine stains.
"Down on our worms" could be a reference to "going down" on someone's "worm",
as could "we're all on our saints," with "saints" referring to other men.
(Madonna wasn't the first one to make the correlation between sex and religion
:-) "Nothing to pee" could be referring to ejaculation as opposed to urination.
"Made" (or paid) "to appease" could refer to the use of force or money for
services rendered. You might think that my interpretations are shocking or
extreme, but I don't want these possibilities to be overlooked in the quest for
a solution to this riddle. Thank you for your consideration.

Just a couple of things that I think have informed Eno's lyrics:
The Irish writer Flann O'Brien (also known as Brian O'Nolan and Myles ns
cGopaleen) wrote a column in the Irish Times for a good twenty years or so, as
well as publishing five or six novels. One of them, 'The Third Policeman'
includes a character named Michael Finnucane, who says 'If any man should look
at you sideways, I will rip his belly'. This seems to turn up in 'Blank Frank'.

The same book is also full of footnotes which grow longer as the book
goes on, and which have no bearing on the story at all. Most of the footnotes
deal with a fictional mad scientist named de Selby, whose own books include
'Golden Hours'. Some of de Selby's writings are so obscure that his many
commentators can never agree on their meaning. In Flann O'Brien's newspaper
column, he occasionally warned against writing in Gaelic, because he liked to
be sure that if he had written 'The weather was fine last Tuesday', it would
not be interpreted as 'So-and-so is a thief and a drunkard'.

Some of the alternative hearings are amusing since they are merely
substituting one nonsense for another, but I suppose if they sound good, then
they'll do. Also, the title 'More Dark Than Shark' reminds me of a title used
by Samuel Beckett for a collection of his short stories'More Pricks Than
Kicks'. Beckett's title in turn comes from the Bible, Acts 26:14 if you're
keen. You'll need a King James. (-- Nathan Farrelly)

THANKS TO:

Craig Clark, Jay Sachs, Phil Gyford and other nameless denizens of
the alt.music.brian-eno newsgroup who worked together in 1995 to create the
transcriptions on which the EnoWeb's lyrics pages are based.

The references are not intended to indicate the "meaning" of the
lyrics -- it's well-known that Brian did not intend his lyrics to have a set
meaning and often selected words for the way they sounded. The references may,
however, suggest some of the reasons why some words or phrases got chosen
rather than others.